This post's title makes no sense unless we assume that the defendant North American Stainless is in the business of making or selling stainless steel. For the sake of expedition I will assume that it is so. Today the US Supreme Court, through Justice Scalia, ruled on a retaliation and Title VII case, Thompson v. North [...]

It's been said many times but bears repetition: employers must be careful what they put in e-mails, even routine office communications. Melanie McClure brings us another real world example in her Arkansas Employment Law blog. A bank had a young female teller. She had documented performance problems. While employed, she became pregnant, and suffered some [...]

Words have meanings, and sometimes imprecision in the use of a word can affect substantive legal rights. In illustration of this principle, from Chicago comes the tale of Lord Osunfarian Xodus. The case is Xodus v. Wackenhut. A Rastafarian who wears dreadlocks, Xodus applied for a job as a security guard with Wackenhut Corporation. At [...]

Two recent decisions illustrate distinctly different sides of the conflicts between men and women that percolate into our courtrooms. Neither is a New Jersey case, but there are lessons for for Garden Staters in both. In Kirleis v. Dickey, McCamey & Chilcote, P.C., the plaintiff Alyson Kirleis sued the defendant law firm, of which she [...]

Here's another example of why employers need to take seriously --- and treat appropriately --- employee complaints of discrimination. Here the plaintiff won a $3 million verdict when a jury found that the employer, United Airlines, retaliated against her for complaining about gender discrimination. Note, however, that the jury also found that United did not [...]

Here's an article from RGJ.com (I think that's the Reno Gazette-Journal) that deals with two of my firm's practice areas, employment law and sports law. The short story: a female soccer coach at the University of Nevada-Reno, was fired. She sued, claiming that her termination was in retaliation for her reporting of possible Title IX [...]

Today brings news of two developments featuring coaches of women's sports teams. The first comes from California. USA Today reports that the former coach of the Fresno State women's basketball team has won a jury verdict of more than $19 million. She claims that she was fired for promoting women's issues. The university, her former employer [...]

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently found a Jewish Community Center to be a "religious organization" that was "exempted from compliance with the religious discrimination provisions of Title VII by Section 702 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." The case is Leboon v. Lancaster Jewish Community Center Association. The issue of the status of [...]

The LA Times reports that the House of Representatives has passed a bill that would reverse the decision of the US Supreme Court in Ledbetter v. Goodyear, which strictly construed Title VII's 180 day requirement for filing of pay discrimination claims. We previously posted on this decision here, wondering whether Congress would make good on its threat [...]

The Baltimore Sun reports that NJ-based supermarket chain A&P has been found liable for unlawfully discriminating against a white employee, or so-called "reverse discrimination." The plaintiff, John Sullivan, claimed that he was demoted and replaced by a black employee on the basis of race discrimination. A federal jury agreed. Post-trial motions that will determine the [...]